Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who entered this season with a 27-4 record as a starter, has struggled in back-to-back losses since returning from an appendectomy. He tries to return to form Sunday night at the San Diego Chargers. Some comparison and contrast, by the numbers:

"I'm getting better every day and every week," the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback says.

Roethlisberger, 24, who in February became the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl, can easily point to extenuating circumstances in explaining his slump.

An offseason motorcycle accident. An emergency appendectomy.

But he makes no excuses.

"I feel like I am ready to play," said Roethlisberger, angling toward Sunday night's game at the San Diego Chargers. "I feel good about the way my body feels. I feel people have been over-analyzing the way we've played. ... We just have a few mistakes here and there, and we're just a little bit off."

If the Steelers (1-2) have any chance of repeating as champion, they need Roethlisberger — still looking for his first touchdown pass of the season — to shake off his rust in a hurry. His 34.3 passer rating is second-worst in the NFL, thanks to five interceptions.

Last year, Roethlisberger didn't throw a pick until Week 7. But he threw three interceptions during a 28-20 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 24, with two of the errant passes snagged in the end zone. Six nights earlier, his two fourth-quarter pickoffs helped seal a shutout.

Take five? No player probably needed the bye the Steelers had last weekend like Big Ben.

"No question, he's had to work himself back in shape and football focus," coach Bill Cowher said during a phone interview Thursday. "The bye week was a chance to come back fresh and ready to go."

Said Roethlisberger: "It's almost a double-edged sword. We could step back and regroup. On the other hand, I wanted to get right back out there and try to turn it around."

Despite a stiff test against the Chargers' No. 1 defense on tap, they are not in a panic mode. Cowher saw enough positives in the last game to sense that Roethlisberger is close to being himself again.

Roethlisberger began his career by going an NFL-record 13-0 as a rookie starter.

"I have no concern about Ben," Cowher said. "This kid has proven himself. He's dealt with adversity, played in big games. The biggest thing is he wants to do too much, too fast."

The Steelers' woes aren't all on the quarterback. The passing game is ranked 28th. Super Bowl MVP Hines Ward has been nagged by a hamstring injury since the early stage of training camp. Younger receivers Nate Washington and rookie Santonio Holmes are having growing pains. If not timing, it has been dropped passes.

"We've had very good weeks of practice, not just this week, but so far this year," Roethlisberger said. "We need to take our practice play onto the field (on game day)."

During training camp, there was talk about Roethlisberger taking more command of an expanded offense, with more leeway in play-calling. Cowher and offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt maintained it is part of the evolution of a quarterback, if not an extension of strategy used during the AFC playoffs when they relied heavily on Roethlisberger's arm to build first-half leads.

Yet Cowher stops short of endorsing the fact that Pittsburgh had more passes than rushes in each of the past two games, with Roethlisberger throwing more than 30 times. At Jacksonville, Roethlisberger had 32 passes, while the team had 14 rushes.

The philosophy doesn't change that much, Cowher insists, even when Roethlisberger is clicking. He averaged about 22 passes per game in his first two seasons.

"Look at the wins and losses," Cowher said, mindful of losses in three of the four games Roethlisberger threw 30 passes. "When you're winning, you throw less because you're trying to close it out with the running game."